Meant to pick/pull the roots of Chicory this fall; wonder if I can in winter with the ground not yet frozen (24 degrees today). As kids we play with the long strands of the plant - the stems were long, octagon shape and had long strands of strength line twine running through them. We'd twist them, braid them, try to make strong ropes and that sort of thing. It grows on roads sides and waste lands often. You can pull the roots, roast them then ground them as a very much like coffee substitute.

Shortly after learning about this root, as with in a day or so, my grand mother Gladys, out of the blue mentions how they use to drink Chicory coffee during WWII because of coffee rationing and coffee being shipped to our GIs. She never picked it herself but possibly her parents or they bought in stores often. She was a young girl but remembered Chicory Root Coffee.